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The North American airports that are guaranteed to sooner or later get A380s are JFK, EWR, LAX, SFO, ORD, MIA, and YYZ has also good chances. Not to mention on the freight side SDF(UPS) and MEM(FedEx). All these airports either already have made adjustments for the A380 (SFO) or are in the process of doing so (MIA). Other airports are also preparing to handle the A380, although their chances of getting one are lower than those I mentioned before. Those "secondary A380 destinations" include YVR, IAH, and DFW AFAIK. So far only Ben DeCosta, the boss of ATL, has publicly stated that his airport will not make any modifications for the A380, stating the costs for these modifications are too high for the chance of getting only a single daily A380, if at most.

Thanks DAL767400ER. I wonder when the baby boomers (myself included) start to retire in droves and the leisure market goes crazy with travelers, if the economies of operating this magnificent plane will make more sense. Seems like the perfect fit for tour operations.

Quoting StevenUhl777 (Reply 4):Is there a runway length minimum for the A380? Any airport with at least a 10,000' runway should be able to allow it to land, however gate space is another issue.

The A380
- Has the same or better runway length requirements as the 744.
- Has a lower wheel loading than the 744, the 773 and the 722.
- Has a shorter exhaust plume than the 772LR and the 773ER.
- Can land and takeoff anywhere the 744 can.

This means that the 380 can, in an emergency, divert to loads and loads of airports and airbases. Deplaning would be with the slides or, if there's no hurry, with one 744 compatible airstair. This does not mean that it can be routinely operated anywhere the 744 can.

The following may need to be upgraded/revised in order to make the jump from accepting routine 744 ops to routine 380 ops.
- Tight taxiway turns may require extra material on the inside of the turn.
- Runway touchdown zones, culverts and bridges may require strengthening. While the wheel loading is lower, the total weight is higher.
- Gate distances may need to be increased.
- For timely boarding/deplaning, 2 jetways are needed instead of one (the latter being all right for the 744).
- Gate waiting rooms may need to be enlarged to accomodate all those pax.
- Distance between taxiways may need to be increased, or at least ground traffic patterns may need to be revised because of the 80m wingspan.

"There are no stupid questions, but there are a lot of inquisitive idiots."

SFO is ready now.................I really don't see Fedex operating the 380 into IND..........I would think the 380's would fly out of MEM as it is their main base......would it be feasible to operate the 380 out of MEM and IND, I doubt it the cities are about an hour apart (or less) by air. I dont see enough overseas traffic out of IND to justify it there, let alone all the upgrades to IND for a single 380.

Quoting DLKAPA (Reply 3):I'm pretty sure that DEN is the only airport that can support the A380.

As Squirrel83's post shows, many airports are ready. Most will not spend big $$$ getting ready until the business case says to expand. For example, SFO will only have two gates ready for the 380. But until there are > 6 or 8 flights a day from SFO, why should they expand? LAX will only have more gates ready, but only the southernmost runway is built for > 1 million lbm. (The bridges were downgraded to 950,000 lbm for the other runways.)

Quoting DAL767400ER (Reply 1):The North American airports that are guaranteed to sooner or later get A380s are JFK, EWR, LAX, SFO, ORD, MIA, and YYZ

It will be years before another US airport sees the A380. The diversion airports are going to be ready. e.g., for LAX, ONT and Edward's Air force base (recall, Boeing can rent NASA space for flight testing there.) The only other airport that might see a A380 not listed by DAL767400ER is BOS.

I do hope to see the big bird soon at LAX. I wouldn't doubt it will drop by for a proving flight.

Quoting ILSApproach (Reply 13):I really don't see Fedex operating the 380 into IND..........I would think the 380's would fly out of MEM as it is their main base......would it be feasible to operate the 380 out of MEM and IND, I doubt it the cities are about an hour apart (or less) by air. I dont see enough overseas traffic out of IND to justify it there, let alone all the upgrades to IND for a single 380.

Cargo is easier since there are no gate facilities to deal with. But the runways/taxiways/culverts/bridges still have to be considered.

"There are no stupid questions, but there are a lot of inquisitive idiots."

YUL will probably be one of the first AF 380 destinations and probably the only Canadian city which will see the 380 for quite some time. YYZ might if EK ever decides to fly there (YYZ sees very few 747s anymore let alone a future large number of 380s). YVR might eventually get 380 movements too, but probably not before 2010 when the Olympics come to Vancouver.